And yet again: 7-year-old raped and murdered during a wedding ceremony in UP's Etah

The little girl went missing during the garland exchange ceremony even as her parents were on the lookout for her. “Later at around 1:30 am, the unconscious girl was found in semi-naked condition, with strangulation mark on her neck. Her abdomen also had blood stains,” said a source to TOI.

The little girl went missing during the garland exchange ceremony even as her parents were on the lookout for her. &nbsp | &nbspPhoto Credit:&nbspBCCL

In yet another disgusting and disgraceful incident, a seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a youth who was hired to set up a tent during a wedding ceremony in Etah in Uttar Pradesh. The Times of India reported that the girl’s body was found abandoned near a construction site around the wedding venue and that the police have apprehended the accused, a certain Sonu Jatav.

The little girl went missing during the garland exchange ceremony even as her parents were on the lookout for her. “Later at around 1:30 am, the unconscious girl was found in semi-naked condition, with strangulation mark on her neck. Her abdomen also had blood stains,” said a source to the paper.

The seven-year-old was declared brought dead by a government hospital in the district. “The girl’s body has been sent for post-mortem, while the accused has been arrested. Based on the written complaint of victim’s family, the accused Sonu has been booked under IPC section 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and POCSO act,” said Superintendent of police, Etah, Akhilesh Chaurasia.

“The victim and accused hailed from the same village, and probably he lured the victim while her parents, guests and others were busy during the wedding ceremony,” TOI quoted an official source as saying. The incident, which comes on the heels of the Kathua and Unnao rape cases sheds a light on the pathetic and dangerous conditions that women face in the country – even girls as little as seven years of age are not spared.